Valiant 40 ?

[DeepFrz]

be done in a week or two

Are you kidding?

[atoll]

stern 41,bargain at that price,spend another 10 000 0n auto pilot,dingy,solar panels,new batteries,liferaft ,new deck in trinidad,at 1000 euros a month mooring fees in lagos marina,so no wonder its going for that price,bet the owner cant wait to be shot of it if he is short of cash

[boatman61]

LOL.... sorry about that... should have read month or two... there's a lorra screws..

[Mimsy]

DeepFrz, a 2 cabin 40 footer, ready to go heavy cruiser is going to be a tough find at 40k euros. Something is going to have to give, either size, budget or time frame...

[pablothesailor]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

If you are looking for a boat in that size range with 2 cabins for 2 adult men then a canoe stern boat probably wouldn't be a good choice. I think you will find that the aft cabin on a Valiant 40 is pretty small. They are nice boats though.

Good point, the secret is to get on board first and grab the best cabin !! Just looked at the list on line and did a search on the ¨Ovni¨, its a good heavy boat at 8500 Kilos, I notice it has an aluminium Hull, as I mentioned I am new to Sailing so would very much Value your opinions on the boat and the HULL, Thanks, Pablo! PS...whoever gave the advice regarding buying a boat close to home, I agree!

[DeepFrz]

Mimsy, I totally agree.

[atoll]

dont think you will find an ovni in the 37 ft range for under 80000 euros

[DeepFrz]

Ovni has a good reputation. You will get plenty of opinions on aluminum, but I for one wouldn't let that alone scare me off. It does need to by surveyed though be someone who is knowledgeable with swing keel boats. I would think that if the Ovni has an Achilles heel it will be at the swing keel. It needs to be checked over carefully.

[pablothesailor]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Ovni has a good reputation. You will get plenty of opinions on aluminum, but I for one wouldn't let that alone scare me off. It does need to by surveyed though be someone who is knowledgeable with swing keel boats. I would think that if the Ovni has an Achilles heel it will be at the swing keel. It needs to be checked over carefully.

I am just really making a list of some of the boats to consider, I would be curious to know how much these boats are going for right now, its one thing to ask 65 or 70,000 euros, but are the sellers getting much movement right now, here in Spain you cant get a cent out of the banks!

[Mimsy]

Pablo, I think you will find that most sailors don't finance their boats. Especially in the used market.

If it were me and I was planning on spending 40k, I would look at boats priced up to maybe 50 k and hope. I would never spend my entire budget on the boat upfront. With a 40k budget, the most I would spend on purchase is 30 k because any boat in that price range is going to need something and its best to keep a bit in reserve for when Murphy shows up.

[atoll]

last year i refitted a 30 year old van de stad 52 ft,beautiful yacht BUT..........
asking price was 150 buyer knocked owner down to 120 pre survey,due to a small amount of osmosis and a few other things they finally agreed on 80 000.

then the fun began,ended up spending 2 months refitting every system,just to get the vessel sea worthy enough to leave,drifted for 3 days off morrocco when the injector pump packed up..............in the end he ended up spending a further 40 000 euro.............

would reccomend if your budget is 40 000 look for somthing in the 30 000 range as there is no such thing as a vessel thats ready to go,espeacily for a novice,can easily spend 10 000 by the time you have done a haul out,and replaced a few things that you know about, and then there is the stuff you dont know about........

how to become a millionaire and own a yacht?..... start off as a multi millionaire

[svqayaq]

I have a Valiant 32 for sale lying Auckland, NZ. It it fully set up for offshore cruising. Sailed from west coast US to New Zealand. Asking $65,000.00 (US). Contact if interested for more information.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by pablothesailor

Myself and a freind who has experience intend to sail from Gibraltar to Tenerife (Novemeber 2011) and then head to the Caribean, well, this is the idea!

My research shows that the Valiant 40 is a hugely popular boat (without the blisters),

my budget, tops, would be 40,000 euros (sea worthy ready to go),

could you please advise in the current market what i could get for this (I would like 38-40 ft with 2 cabins),

also what ¨offers¨are being accepted, i.e..if a boat is advertized at $90,000 what are they going for?

The Valiant 40 is a great boat, blisters aside, but you aren't very likely to find one in Spain, certainly not at a price you can afford and can be made seaworthy.

I read somewhere recently that on average boats go for 80% of asking price. I don't know if that was true for the US or internationally.

To summarize your goals, you want to leave in November, you have €40k to spend for a boat ready to go, you would like 2 cabins in a 38-40' boat.

According to Jimmy Cornell's 'World Cruising Routes' May-Aug is the appropriate time for the Gibraltar to Tenerife passage, By Nov the frequency of adverse winds becomes rather higher. My reccommendation is to accellerate your plans or delay them. Going off season is something you don't want to do if everyone isn't experienced. Delaying until 2012 gives you more time to search for an affordable boat, outfit it and gain more experience.

Essensially you have a very limited budget.

In bad situations a 40' boat is really more boat than 2 people can handle without a lot of expensive gear or tons of experience. I would suggest scaling back your ambitions to 30-37'. This will also make it easier to hit your budget with a seaworthy boat. It will also make it very difficult to get the second cabin.

Figure 40% of purchase price for outfitting as a round number. That means a purchase price of €28k or $38k.

This Yachtworld search 1961 (Sail) Boats For Sale Spain yielded 22 fiberglass boats in Spain, 30-37', $20-35k.

I'm not real up on my European boats but I can say a few things.

The Kirk 36 is probably the only one with an extra cabin, albeit an aft cabin you have to go thru the cockpit to get to. KIRK 36 (AMEL) Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com

I have heard good things about the Rivals but from what I can find they are kind of short on sail area. They have reasonable draft and skeg hung rudders for those that think that is important.
RIVAL 32 Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com
RIVAL 34 Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com
If you have the will, the time and can save your money other places you could lengthen the boom and add a bowsprit, this would mean buying a bigger main (used) and genoa (also used). If you do one you have to do the other to keep the helm balanced. This would increase the sail area enough to be reasonable for long offshore passages.

Whatever boat you get you are going to want a windvane to steer, a used Aries is your best best in Europe a there are an astounding lot of them out there and because the manufacturer is still there to supply parts and advice. An autopilot would be nice as a backup but don't count on one for most of your steering.

You will also want a drifter (nylon genoa) or asymetrical chute with sock for lightair sailing. A spinnaker is nice but not generally very useful on a shorthanded boat, especially after dark.

I am too tired to write anymore, maybe tomorrow.

[pablothesailor]

Hmmm, thanks for all the info, looks like i need to delay my plans untill 2012 (May?), I may also need to find a way to increase my overall setting up budget from 40,000 Euros to 55,000 Euros which is possible in the extra time! Does everyone agree that it is a big ask for 2 men (one experienced one not so much although crew 2 is currently studying and will have 12 months of ¨local sailing¨) to sail a 40 ft boat? Also, what would be the smallest, safest boat for these 2 to set off on a 2 year journey, many thanks, Pablo. PS...I am still trying to work out if its better value to buy a boat in Europe or the USA?

[Mimsy]

I don't think there is anything that is "safest". Do some research, crawl around on boats and get a feel for what you look for in a boat.

Some people like open cockpits that drain quickly. Others, like myself feel more secure in a smaller, more enclosed cockpit. Is one safer than the other? You could debate back and forth for days but it all comes down to what YOU feel comfortable with.

With a limited budget, if you are willing to give up size you can get a heavier built boat. I feel more secure in a heavier boat with an encapsulated keel but that is MY preference and others will have theirs.

I admit I am a big chicken baby who think's Volvo cars are sexy. Your mileage may vary.

Back to the size issue. I don't think 40 feet is too much for 2 to handle, I think its too much for your budget to handle. You really won't need 2 cabins while underway- someone will always be on watch and fore cabins are not the most comfortable place to sleep while underway.

At anchor, your sleeping quarters might be small but you will have a ginormous living room. If you are looking to ask people to your cabin to see your etchings, you can always put "has her own boat" on your dating criteria list.

Here's a link to a list of smaller boats for voyaging:
Atom Voyages | Voyages Aboard the Sailboat Atom -* Good Old Boats List - choosing a* small voyaging sailboat